Tool for contracting hollow watch parts



Sept. 4, 1951 L. A. CORMIER ETAL 2,566,595

TOOL FOR CONTRACTING HOLLOW WATCH PARTS Filed May 9, 1947 INVENTOR [and 67/. @rmze; lass n72, d4 Cormi/er Patented Sept. 4, 1951 TOOL FOR CONTRACTING HOLLOW WATCH PARTS Louis A. Cormier and Joseph A. Cormier, Southbridge, Mass, assignors to Hammel, Riglander & Co. Inc., New York, N. Y., a. corporation of New York Application May 9, 1947, Serial No. 747,028

' (c1. s1-e) 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to watchmakers' tools and more particularly to a type of tool used for adjusting or contracting the collets of hairsprings, the shanks of rollers, and other watch parts.

An object of the present invention is to provide a tool of this character by means of which the split collets of hairsprings, the shanks of rollers and other parts of watches may be contracted so that the same will accurately and tightly fit the staffs or spindles of the co-operating watch parts on which these elements are intended to fit. For example, the hairspring of a watch is customarily mounted around a split ring or collet ada ted to fit over the balance wheel staff, and to make this collet snugly and accurately fit the staff for which it is intended, it is often necessary to apply pressure on the collet to close or partly close the split or opening in it and thus reduce the effective internal diameter of the collet to the proper size. The watchmaker is thus faced with the problem of grasping a tiny spilt ring or collet and a plying considerable pressure to it to squeeze it together and this has been found to be a difficult and delicate operation with the tools now known in the art. Similarly, it has also been found very diflicult to squeeze or apply pressure on the walls of the shank of a roller of a watch movement to thereb adjust the effective internal diameter of the roller.

Thus, an important object of the present invention is to provide a tool by means of which pressure ma be readily imposed upon these and other parts of a watch so that such parts may be reshaped to facilitate the securement of proper fit of such parts with those in the watch movement with which the same are normally associated.

These and other objects are attained by the invention, a more particular description of which will hereinafter appear and be set forth in the claim appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed, Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the improved watchmakers tool, constructed in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the same, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the upper end of the tool, showing how the heads or jaws of the tool engage and hold the collet of a hairspring.

Referring to the drawing, l indicates one of the legs of the tool, a similar leg being shown at 2, the two legs being composed of flat spring metal, and being bent toward one another near one end and permanently secured together, as indicated at 4, so that the aspect of a spring tweezers results. At its free end, the leg I is tapered as indicated at 3, and at the end of the tapered portion 3 is fixedly attached a head or jaw 5. The 1eg 2 is also provided at its free end with the tapered part 3 to which is attached a head or jaw shown at 6, said head or jaw being similar in shape and size to that indicated at 5.

Each of the heads is in the form of a solid bar and is substantially half-round or semi-cylindrical in cross-sectional shape, provided at one end with a substantially vertical fiat striking face indicated at 9. At its opposite end, each head is formed with a knife edge as indicated at l. The top face of each head, indicated at 8, is substantially fiat, with the result that when the two legs I and 2 are brought toward one another to an extent to cause the two knife edges 1 on the heads or jaws 5 and 6 to come close together or into contact, a continuous flat surface or table will be provided along the top of the jaws or heads.

It will be noted that the ends of the legs I and 2 are secured to the respective heads 5 and 5 bei. tween the ends of the heads with the result that a considerable portion of each head extends laterally of the leg I or 2 to which it is attached, such projecting portion of each head being designated at ill. The roiection of a part of the head to a position laterally of the leg to which it is attached, results in locating the ends or striking surfaces 9 of the heads at positions remote from the legs I and 2 to thereby allow these surfaces 9 or either of them, to be struck with a hammer or against a surface when required, without causing the legs I and 2 to be struck or damaged by such action. The result of the described arrangement is that each of the heads 5 and 6 is in effect a miniature hammer head or anvil which can receive blows or smart taps from a hammer to secure the desired results in a manner to be presently described.

For the adjustment of the spring legs I and 2 toward one another, a screw H is provided, the same being anchored at one end in the leg I and having its other end passing through an aperture in the leg 2, to receive an adjusting nut l2 threadably upon it on the outside of the leg 2. The legs I and 2 normally tend to springv apart to a limited extent and they can be adjusted toward one another by manipulation of the nut l2 as will be clearly understood.

From the foregoing, the operation of the tool will be readily understood. Assuming that it is desired to adjust the effective internal diameter 01' a hair-spring collet or split ring such as is shown at IS in Fig. 3, the collet I 3 is placed between the knife edges of the jaws 5 and 6 and the hairspring [5 coiled about the collet being rested on the flat tops of the jaws. By adjustment of the nut l2 the-"heads or jaws 5 and 6 are brought toward one another to cause the same to firmly grip the collet l3 between the two knife edges 1, while the spring [5 firmly and flatly seats against the perfectly flat surface or table composed of the two flat top portions 8 of the heads or jaws 5 and 6. The split or opening in the collet is and separated at the opposite end, each leg havshown at It and it is desired to close or at least partly close this opening to thereby reduce the internal diameter of the collet. With-the collet gripped between the two knife edges of the heads or jaws, the end or flat surface -9 of one of the heads or jaws is held flatly on the top of the workers bench or against anysuitable fiat support, and a hammer blow is smartly applied against the end or flat surface of the second head orjaw, such blow serving at once to cause the collet to be squeezed between the edges 1 to at once close or partly close the split l4. Since the collet is firmly held between the jaws or heads 5 and 5 when this occurs, and the 'hairspring is resting flatly against the flat table surfaces'S, the parts of these delicate elements are protected and the collet will not be released until the nut I2 is manipulated -to permit the release of it from be tween the jaws.

The work upon -a roller or other tubular part is conducted in a similar manner, namely, it is gripped between the knife edges of the jaws and by the application of a blow on the end of one jaw while the other is held against a fiat surface, the shank of the'roller canbe indented or compressed to reduce the internal diameter of the same to a desired extent.

While we have herein referred to the tool as being particularly adapted for use in connection with vhairsprirlg collets, rollers or the like, it will be understood that such uses are merely illustrative of some of the functions of the tool, since it may be used for contracting various tubular elements, for providing indentations in the same, remov ng rollers from staffs and performing numerous other functions, thus making the same a; handy and extremely useful tool tothe watch: maker or other craftsman.

ing a free end, each of the free ends being provided with a hammer-like head substantially semi-cylindrical in cross-sectional shape thereby providing" a flatupper surface on each head against :which a watch part may rest while a collet thereon is gripped between the heads, one end of each head being tapered to form a knife edge, the knife edges on the head being in opposed. re ationship, the o posite end of each head being fiat to form a striking surface, the combined lengths of the heads being greater than the diameter of the article being held so that one or the other'of the flattened ends of the heads can be struck without damage to the gripped article,

the free end of each leg being attached to. its

head at a point between the knife edge and-the flat end whereby the striking surface on each head is located at a distance from the leg, means for adjustably bringing the freeends of the legs toward one another whereby an object can be clamped between the knife edges of the heads, and one or the other of the heads can be struck on its flattened end while the object is so held, to cause the object to be compressed between the knife edges on the two heads.

LOUIS A. C'ORMIER.

JOSEPH A. GOPMIFR.

CITED The following references are of record file of this patent:

' UNITED STATES PATENTS in the Putnam Jan. 2,, 1934:. 

